V is for Valentine
by DreamMelody
Summary: There were only three words. Three words she had heard a zillion times already, but had never escaped her mouth. Only three little words, but with so much meaning. And yet she still couldn't make herself reveal them, even when her reflection was dancing in his eyes.


**V is for Valentine**

Sailor Venus. The goddess of love. The agent of beauty. The beautiful leader of princess Serenity's mighty guardians. People had been praising her beauty from the day she was born. Golden hair. Blue eyes. Incredible power. The men of her planet adored her and the women envied her. But it wasn't love that the men experienced. It was awe and lust for something untouched and so out of their reach. The Moon was no different. Many nobles courted her in every ball, but she always managed to get out of it by faking an illness or relying on her friends' aid. They never stopped though. They were all the same, she had decided. Arrogant and impulsive. It disgusted her. But one gets to get accustomed to certain things through the years. And so the gleaming eyes travelling up and down her form or the greedy lips touching her hand stopped bothering her in the long run. Yes. They were all the same. Every man that approached her, was no better than the previous one.

So, to say that she wasn't surprised the first time she laid eyes on him would be the most terrible of lies. She had just found out where her princess had been sneaking off to and was ready to discover the reason, when he had stood in her way. She hadn't seen a Terrian before. Even speaking about them was forbidden in some planets. The man before her was tall, taller than her and even taller than Jupiter. His shoulders were broad, his appearance imposing. His silver cape, a perfect match with his silver uniform, was swaying elegantly in the light breeze of the night. Straight, silver hair was falling past his shoulders. Silver-grey eyes were staring back at her, cold and emotionless. Cold. Emotionless. That was something new for her. She hadn't been stared at like that before. His gaze brought a chill down her spine, but she wouldn't let it show thanks to her intense training. Never show the enemy your weakness, an old, wise commander used to say.

He had a sword, she had noted. It was long and sharp and was glimmering in the moonlight. Its hilt was a strange mixture of gold and silver and white words of an unknown to her language were elegantly scripted on its blade. She wouldn't get away from him without a fight it seemed. It didn't matter though. She would go on the greatest of lengths for the sake of her princess. With these thoughts, she summoned her own sword to take its rightful place in her gloved hand. The man was unfazed by her use of magic and simply drew his own sword out with a swift but elegant movement. And then, without further ado, he charged. The two warriors moved around the rose-filled garden quickly, their swords colliding with resounding 'clunks', before they stopped in a position, their swords creating a perfect 'X'. It was only then that Sailor Venus understood the reason behind the man's comfort with her use of magic. He was gifted with it himself. The man's form was enveloped by a dark aura and his sword turned into a dark obsidian with the letters glowing an imposing red. But before he could deliver the next strike, their battle was interrupted and everything about him returned to normal, when his concentration broke.

The Moon princess appeared in front of them from behind some bushes, followed by a tall black-haired man. It was after a few minutes of endless explanations, that Sailor Venus was met with the terrible truth. Her princess had fallen in love with the one and only prince of Earth. Sailor Venus wanted to say that it was not love, but just a silly phase, but the more she looked at the couple, the more her heart was denying it. And then it was that her decision was made. And so, every night Endymion and Serenity would meet and their guardians would follow them in pairs, rotating every week. Sailor Jupiter and General Nephrite had taken up the duty first. Those two had got along well from the first time they saw each other and savored their time together. The brown-haired general brought on the surface the side of Sailor Jupiter that Sailor Venus had seen only when the brunette was alone with her and their other sisters. It was a gentler and more feminine side. The one that most people would think impossible for the strongest of all the Senshi. Next it was Sailor Mars and General Jadeite. It was different with them. Their first meetings were spent with arguments and heated glares that could kill on sight. How they ended up together was beyond the Senshi of love. Sailor Mercury and General Zoisite were another different story. The general was trying to approach her, but the Senshi would always avoid it. But eventually, little by little, Sailor Venus had seen her friend's heart slowly starting to melt.

Only her story had been left unfinished. Or maybe there was no story to begin with. Because every time she met with him it felt like it. They didn't talk. They were always submerged in a deep silence that was very uncomfortable for her. It was surprising really. She wasn't used to feeling like this. Normally, she would let others feel uncomfortable under her heated glared, but he wouldn't even look at her. His otherworldly eyes were always locked on his prince and the key was guarded by a three-headed dragon inside a tall castle, surrounded by fire. Was she really that hideous? Didn't he like her attire? Maybe it was the ribbon. Yes, the red ribbon styling her head. Come to think of it, it was a bit childish, especially for a warrior. And indeed when one day she showed up with her hair down, he didn't only looked at her but made a little conversation as well.

''You let your hair down.'', he commented, looking at her straight in the eye.

''Y-yes.'', Sailor Venus swallowed nervously.

''Why?'', he questioned.

''I just wanted a change.'', she remarked carelessly in order to hide her sense of victory.

''I liked it better with the ribbon.'', he muttered, before his eyes returned to his master. And just like that, her sense was broken in a thousand pieces.

''Don't think this has anything to do with you.'', she exclaimed, the next time they met, playing with her once again caught up mass of hair.

''I would never dream of it, milady.'', he answered and Sailor Venus thought she had just seen a ghost of a smile passing from his lips.

It was back to normal after that. Silence, silence and of course silence. Nothing more. Nothing less. She was saddened about it in the beginning, but that feeling was slowly starting to turn into anger. He obviously liked her even a little bit, but he would never make a move towards her. He wasn't a coward. That she was certain of. He was the leader of the Shitennou, the prince's personal guard. She just couldn't take this anymore. That's why one of the many nights that Endymion and Serenity met, she decided to speak her mind. It wasn't her turn for guard duty. It was Jupiter and Nephrite for this week and she knew that they would be alone.

Lord Zoisite was kind enough to show her the way to his chambers, after she claimed that there were safety matters that needed to be discussed. The blonde-haired lord left her in front of a pair of huge doors and departed with a smile, that Sailor Venus didn't fancy at all. Pushing the thought aside, the blonde Senshi knocked on the door and waited. The response to come in came shortly after and Sailor Venus pushed the door open like it was a great accomplishment. He was sitting on a soft armchair, almost hidden behind a large mahogany desk. Books were covering the walls, except of a space on the right that was covered by another door. His bedroom, Sailor Venus figured and blushed visibly at the thought.

"Do you need anything, my lady?", he asked, standing from his seat and coming to stand in front of his office expectantly.

"I..", Sailor Venus stuttered for the first time in her life. "Why are you ignoring me? Why won't you talk to me? No one has ever done that before!"

"You want me to change?", Kunzite queried interestingly.

"Wha-"

"You want me to become one of the numerous men that fall on your feet every single day. You want me to court you only for you to reject me like all the others? You want me to become another name on the list of those you had fooled. Are you enraged that I didn't show any signs of falling for you? When your princess was discovered I did some research on you and your Senshi. Some of my sources said that you always speak your mind and yet you never did. Did I approach the wrong person or are you hiding behind a silly mask. Possibly the latter. And then I will ask you this: Why are you hiding from me? What are your feelings, Lady Venus?"

The distance between them was nonexistent now. They were standing face to face in the center of the room, their eyes locked into each other. And yet she found it difficult to speak. There were only three words really. Three words she had heard a zillion times already, but had never escaped her mouth. Only three little words, but with so much meaning. Serenity and Endymion used them all the time like an oath. She secretly envied them for that. Kunzite ended their eye contact and turned around in order to resume his work. Seeing this, Sailor Venus moved forward and grabbed his arm, effectively stopping his advance. They stayed still for the few silent moments that took Sailor Venus to form the necessary words together.

"I don't know what love is. I have seen love and read about love, but I have never felt this little tinge of emotion in my heart. Now I understand what it feels like to love someone even though he doesn't return your feelings. Because I love you, Kunzite! I love you! You and only you. There is no one else in this world that I could pos-"

Her next words were muffled by the sensation of Kunzite's lips on hers. The silver-haired man had turned around swiftly once again and had enveloped the blonde Senshi in a passionate embrace with his hands on her waist, keeping her close. Sailor Venus stood frozen for a few seconds but eventually her wide eyes softened and then closed as she brought her hands around his neck, deepening the kiss. They only parted when the need for air became urgent. The silver-haired man bent slightly down and placed his lips next to her ear.

"Aelion.", he whispered softly, as if he was sharing a secret of the kingdom.

"What?", Sailor Venus queried confused.

"It's my name.", Kunzite answered. "My true name.", he revealed and her blue irises widened in realization of his action. If you were a magic user and you gave your true name to someone you were bonded for life and that someone could manipulate you if he or she so wished. And for him to do something like this meant only one thing. That he trusted her. And in truth, she did as well. Sailor Venus approached him with a smile and stepped into her toes in order to reach his ear.

"Philia.", she whispered in return and stepped back once again.

"What?", she inquired playfully, when she saw the wide smile that was covering his face.

"Endymion won the bet.", he retorted with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Serenity, too.", she huffed a little too proudly. "I must go back. I see I interrupted you from your work as well."

"It didn't bother me this time.", he exclaimed, before embracing her, an action that she immediately returned. They stayed there in a comfortable silence, until the Senshi of love disappeared from his wonderful embrace.

Now she knew what love was. Love was sweet. Love was kind. Love was hurtful and love was droplets falling from the eyes. It was happiness and sadness. Sun and rain. Anger and understanding. It was the pain of separation, but also the expectation for the next meeting. It was unpredictable and real. Love was everything. Love was life.


End file.
